Faith healers: Change to Idaho law won’t change our beliefs [View all]

The faith-healing practices of the Followers of Christ church are at the heart of Idaho’s debate over faith-based exemptions in cases of child neglect.

“I have complete confidence in your freedom to make your choice for medicine, and I would have every hope that it is effective for you,” Dan Sevy, a member of the Followers of Christ, told a panel of Idaho lawmakers. “However, we believe that pharmaceuticals and medicine (are) a product from Satan.”

Addressing concerns that faith-healing practices, protected by Idaho law, are permitting children to die from medical neglect, lawmakers are reviewing possible changes. A governor-appointed panel has identified 10 such possible deaths over a three-year period.

Wednesday’s hearing was the first time a church member had addressed the subject in a public forum. Sevy, of Caldwell, was supported by a half-dozen other church members.

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article93800767.html